1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tactical gear for use by law enforcement and military personnel, and more particularly to a man-portable tactical mirror system that may be rapidly deployed to provide law enforcement or military personnel with an around-the-corner view of a room or other part of a structure from a safe location.
2. Description of Related Art
Military and law enforcement personnel are often tasked with entering and clearing buildings and structures wherein an enemy, suspect, or fugitive (hereinafter the “Threat”) is hiding or has taken refuge. This process is difficult, time consuming, and dangerous. In order to clear a building or objective, a clearing method or scheme of maneuver must be selected and employed based on potential consequences of delay (e.g. hostage lives, evidence, etc.), as well as potential risk to team members and occupants.
There are two primary methods of building clearing often employed, namely, deliberate clearing and dynamic clearing. The deliberate clearing method may allow the entry team time to get closer to the threat or target before being compromised, whereas the dynamic clearing method places greater emphasis on immediately controlling the objective. With either method, one or more clearing teams, each typically consisting of at least five team members, are tasked with controlling one or more objectives and/or threats. When the clearing team(s) enters the objective they typically systematically clear one room at a time while moving through the structure. Access to the various rooms to be cleared is most often through a doorway. The process on entering the room through the doorway renders the team most vulnerable as persons within the room are typically focused on that precise point. Accordingly, there exists a need for advancement in the art of room clearing gear and tactics that allows an entry team member to view the room interior without becoming exposed through the doorway.